November 2005

In This Version

• 10 Megatrends for the Future
• Stats on Adult Leisure Time
• Megatrend TIPs for Parks and Recreation

Ten Megatrends for the Future

Datamonitor is a global market analyst group that has identified ten “megatrends” that the company believes will impact, influence, and shape new products and services in the coming years. Review the ten megatrends as identified by this company and imagine the implications for parks and recreation.

• Convenience:
  Any things that can save time or provide a “quick fix” rank important to 82% of both US and European consumers.
  Prepared meal consumption in the United States is expected to rise from a rate of $29 billion in 1999 to $40 billion by 2009.
• Health:
  90% of these same groups of consumers feel that improving health is important
  Researchers claim that in 2003-04, 64 per cent of Europeans and US consumers took "steps" to improve their health.
• Age complexity:
  Adults begin to act more youthful re-enacting childhood experiences while younger consumers have greater spending leverage and range of self-choice at ever-increasing young ages making them appears to be older than they really are.
  “ Ageless Marketing” will focus upon defining products and services that are aligned with the ‘aspirational’ age of consumers, their desire to be either younger or older. This form of marketing will also attempt to target values and attitudes shared by all generational groups
• Gender complexity
  The traditional values, attitudes, preferences and behaviors based upon the two different genders is becoming increasingly becoming blurred.
  Datamonitor believes that exceptions to this blurring will prevail for such things as beer, makeup, etc.
• Lifestage complexity
  Previously, lifestage very much related to the evolution of the nuclear family, but since nuclear families no longer stay together throughout life, such changes will give rise to more variations among lifestages. Datamonitor identified 3 of the most basic differences influencing the future as (1) the extended time people may live life as a single; (2) extended life as an older adult; (3) and the presence of boomerang children of all ages.
• Income complexity
  As luxury has been made more accessible to all, lower income and mid-income people are increasingly trying to live luxuriously on a budget.
  Mid-priced Mercedes-Benz would be one such example as would the growing popularity of designer products, mass produced for the lower and middle market places such as Target
• Individualism
  More than half of US and European consumers felt that brands that matched their attitudes and outlook on life was an important consideration
  Western societies has witnessed a large increase in the number of people who are single and such status can be related to the growing orientation of self-
  gratification.
• Sensory
  People today are looking for products and services to supply either new or more intense experiences leading to a willingness to try new things.
  Between 2003 and 2004, over 60 per cent of consumers in the US and Europe tried food and drinks that they had never tried before.
• Comfort
  Meatloaf and macaroni and cheese in upscale restaurants? Just responding to the growing preference or some might say demand for comfort in food and other aspects of life.
  55 % of US and European consumers confessed to enjoying 'small indulgences to escape the pressures of everyday life'.
• Connectivity
  The escalating need to become more “connected” is the last megatrend. While Datamonitor attributes this trend to the ethical side of consumption with a focus upon community belonging and demonstration of shared values. Another strong influence could very well be a myriad of factors such as email, breakdown of the nuclear family, among others.

What Are We Doing with the Non-working Time?

Starting in 2003, the federal government has undertaken a new monitoring survey called the American Time Use Survey or ATUS for short. While this survey takes a look at how people use all hours of the day, for our purposes, we will focus upon their “leisure and sports” category.

Overall Conclusions:

The higher the level of education and the greater the income translates into fewer hours for sports and leisure; having children at home reduces the number of hours an adult expends upon sports and leisure as well.

Definitions Use in this Study:

• Leisure and sport = sports, exercise, recreation, socializing and communicating, and all other leisure activities
• Leisure activities = watching TV, reading, relaxing, or thinking; playing computer, board or card games; using the computer for personal interests; playing or listening to music; and attending art, cultural, or entertainment events

The ATUS reports average hours per day spend in sports and leisure as well as looking at those time patterns across level of income, education, and the presence of children in a household. Some of the findings include:

• As would be expected Americans monitored spent more time with all aspects of sports and leisure on weekends and holidays compared with weekdays:

  6.28 hours on weekends and holidays vs. 4.71 on weekdays

• Lower income individuals spend more time on sports and leisure than do higher income individuals

• The higher the level of education the less time spent in sports and leisure

  Individuals with a four year college degree spend almost 30% less time
  on sports and leisure that people who do not have a high school degree

• Having children at home means that adult have less time for sports and leisure than those adults without children at home and the younger the children, the less leisure time for the parents.

(Source: http://www.bls.gov/tus/datafiles_2004.htm)

Trends Into Practice

"We must constantly be recasting our direction." —Mark Albion, Founder, You and Co.

How then might the field of parks and recreation “recast” our direction to address some of the trends identified by Datamonitor? Consider the following list of suggestions, examples, and questions as a starting point for recasting the direction of your programs and services:

• Convenience – What is the parks and recreation version of “curb take away” service? Self-contained family fun night kits – 1 Stop Shopping camping weekends that include tent, equipment, food, etc.
• Health – Practically everything we do in this field is related to health so let’s start reminding people of the “good times” that we offer that are “good for you” and toss into a few supporting facts as well.
• Age Complexity – Naturally, there are some activities that are age-designated due to differences in skill development, etc. but that is not likely true of most of our offerings; consider opening up the majority of your programs and services to people of all ages with similar interests
• Gender Complexity – We were right on the leading edge of this years ago with girls playing Little League, etc. We may now want to integrate the counter-trend by building upon the success of Curves and other all-female workout places.
• Lifestage Complexity – Greater focus and accommodation for single adults is an emerging necessity as is attention to adults who will live through adulthood, middlescence, a second half, a third age, and then who knows what
• Income Complexity – The extreme variations in the experiences and adventures between the haves and the have nots suggest that there is a strong market for moderately priced opportunities for all people not just the rich and famous. How can we incorporate a Target approach to this area of leisure? Do we have local areas where we can trek and sleep under the stars? Are there special places and spaces within a day’s group trip that might be a new experience or an adventure for some segments of our target population?
• Individualism – We can not and should not attempt to provide everything for everybody and this growing shift to the individual over the group will be a challenge for us. One alternative is to sponsor Fun Fests two or three times a year where organizations from your area can provide information and access opportunities to the general public that might meet the specialized interests of individuals living in your community. We need to more actively support the formation of special interest groups and clubs as well.
• Sensory - We may not be specialists in this area but there is one sensory area where we have cornered the market or at least the park and that is the outdoors. Specifically set aside quiet, comfortable spaces where people can experience nature and solitude away from the laughter and shouts of playgrounds and sports fields not to mention the overload of modern society.
• Comfort – How do we recreate the joy and security of old-fashioned fun? Bike rides, kickball, and ice cream sundaes may serve as a starter list as you connect adults and children with the comforts of a simpler way of life.
• Connectivity – We create community, don’t we and that is what Datamonitor is suggesting is a mega direction of the future. The block party kits, department sponsorship of neighborhood gatherings, small civic engagement projects are all a part of this realm. Make the most of connecting individuals with similar interests, families, neighborhoods, and communities with one another.

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trendSCAN is created by CPRS by Leisure Lifestyle Consulting of Sarasota, FL. Comments and questions can be directed to Dr. Ellen O’Sullivan at leisurlife@aol.com. Please feel free to share interesting trend information with her as well.